JP2004030935A - Simple waterproof type switch - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To develop a waterproof structure capable of realizing high waterproof performance with a simple configuration without any restriction of a switch structure and mounting direction or increase in the number of parts for securing highly reliable contact performance at low cost. <P>SOLUTION: In one of a plane opposed parts, in which a push button and a housing match each other to be prevented from dropping in the sliding direction, between a push button stopper step part and a housing stopper part, a stopper plane is formed. On the other plane, an annular projection for linear contact receiving biasing force of a return spring to be brought into watertight contact with the stopper plane on one side is formed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a simple waterproof switch used as a door switch of a refrigerator, for example, and more particularly, to a simple waterproof switch that can achieve high waterproof performance with a simple configuration.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, a switch used in home electric appliances, for example, a door switch incorporated in a home refrigerator, turns on / off a lamp in the refrigerator and turns on / off a cooling motor when a door of the refrigerator is opened / closed. Plays the role of function. The door switch is mounted on the inner wall of the refrigerator with the push button protruding, and is operated by being pushed when the door is opened or closed.
[0003]
Normally, even if a liquid such as water falls on the door switch while the refrigerator door is open, the door switch does not cause insulation failure and is required to operate normally from a safety aspect. (See, for example, JP-A-11-111105).
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in this type of door switch, there is a gap between the push button and a switch case that slides and guides the push button, and when water or the like falls, the gap between the flat opposing portions due to capillary action. Water may penetrate into the inside of the switch case through the contact member, and the penetrated water may reach the conductive member of the internal contact mechanism and cause insulation failure.
[0004]
In consideration of the intrusion of water, the height of the push button and the conductive member attached to the switch case is changed, or the height of the conductive member or the door switch is modified. Waterproofing measures such as attaching and covering are applied. However, there has been a problem that the switch structure and mounting are restricted in order to take waterproof measures, and the number of parts for waterproofing is increased, resulting in an increase in cost.
[0005]
Accordingly, the present invention provides a highly reliable simple waterproof type switch which has been developed with a waterproof structure capable of realizing high waterproof performance with a simple configuration without being restricted by the switch structure and mounting direction and without increasing the number of parts. The purpose is to provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the present invention, an annular pull-out is provided in which a sliding shaft is inserted into a sliding hole opened in a housing, and an inner end of the sliding shaft is locked in a plane corresponding to a retaining portion inside the housing. A push button having a stop step is provided, a return spring is provided between the push button and the housing to urge the push button outward, and provided inside the housing based on the pressing operation of the push button. A simple waterproof switch that performs switching operation by contacting and separating between contact points provided, wherein the push button and the housing are prevented from slipping in the sliding direction. A retaining surface is formed on one side between the planar opposing portions, and an annular projection for line contact is formed on the other surface to be pressed against the one retaining surface in a watertight manner by receiving the urging force of the return spring. It is characterized by the following.
[0007]
Here, the simple waterproof type switch can be applied to applications requiring waterproofness, for example, a door switch of a refrigerator which is turned on / off in response to an opening / closing operation of a door.
[0008]
The housing has a storage space and a mounting portion in which all of the switch components are integrally incorporated and allowed, and can be made of a synthetic resin material or the like suitable for molding and insulation.
[0009]
The push button has an outer end protruding outward from the housing and is retained so as to be able to be pushed down, and when pushed down, a sliding shaft portion is slidably guided in a sliding hole of the housing, which is also used for molding and insulation. It can be made of a suitable synthetic resin material or the like.
[0010]
The return spring may be constituted by a coil spring or the like which is interposed between the housing and the push button and provides a return force for pushing the pushed push button back to the original position.
[0011]
The contact portion can constitute a contact mechanism by mounting a movable contact piece and a fixed contact piece using a conductive contact member or a leaf spring material inside the housing.
[0012]
The retaining plane is a plane for forming one waterproof contact surface, and can be configured as a plane without unevenness.
[0013]
The annular projection is an annular projection that forms the other waterproof contact surface. A difficult press contact surface is formed, whereby watertight high waterproofness is obtained.
[0014]
The pair of combinations of the one retaining surface and the other annular projection may be provided by selecting either side of the push button or the housing.
[0015]
Further, in this case, the push button and the housing have a structure corresponding to the retaining function, and a space between the retaining surface of the push button and the housing which is the retaining surface of the pushing button can also be used as a waterproof surface. For this reason, at the same time when the push button is assembled to the housing, the retaining surface is also used as a waterproof surface, so that a waterproof structure can be naturally constructed.
[0016]
Furthermore, each switch component can be effectively used as a waterproofing member, for example, the urging force of the return spring can be used as the waterproofing force as it is. Therefore, a waterproof structure can be easily obtained without using a sealing member.
[0017]
According to the present invention, when the push button is in a standby state in which the push button can be pressed, the push button and the housing are both formed on one of the retaining planes formed between the planar opposing portions that are retainingly opposed to each other, and on the other plane. Since the formed annular projection receives the urging force of the return spring and performs pressure contact, it is possible to prevent water from entering the housing from the push button portion without using a sealing member such as a rubber boot. In addition, since the press contact portion is in line contact with one flat surface in an annular shape, the press contact portion is evenly pressed, and the tip portion of the annular protrusion easily conforms to the flat surface to increase the adhesion and form a press contact surface where a gap is hardly generated. Therefore, watertight waterproofness can be obtained.
[0018]
In particular, one of the retaining surfaces can use the outer surface of one of the push button and the housing when integrally formed by resin molding or the like as it is, and the other annular projection does not require a complicated shape, so that it does not require resin molding. At the same time, it can be easily and integrally manufactured. Therefore, it is possible to manufacture a switch in which the independent seal member is omitted. In particular, in the case of mass-produced switches, the addition of one part greatly affects the manufacturing cost, so that the effect of reducing the number of sealing members is large.
[0019]
In addition, since high waterproofness can be ensured, insulation failure due to water infiltration inside the housing can be eliminated, and highly reliable contact performance can be obtained. Can be installed in any direction.
[0020]
Further, when forming the annular projection, the tip of the annular projection is formed into a curved surface shape for line contact and protrudes small, and the formation position of the annular projection is formed on a concentric circle centered on the sliding shaft portion or the sliding hole. Can be configured.
[0021]
In this case, it is easy to mold the resin because the annular projection protrudes small.Also, since the tip of the annular projection is curved for line contact and faces the retaining plane, the annular projection is pressed against the retaining plane at the time of pressing. On the other hand, it is possible to easily form the gap between the pressure contact surfaces that are in close contact with each other in line contact and hardly create a gap, and to increase the waterproofness.Water-tight waterproofness that can completely block ingress of water is obtained at this annular projection. Can be
[0022]
Further, when this annular projection is provided on the push button side, it may be formed on a stopper step on a concentric circle centered on the sliding shaft portion of the push button, and when the annular projection is provided on the housing side, What is necessary is just to form in the stopper part on the concentric circle centering on the sliding hole of this housing, and in any case, if it forms on the concentric circle, the pressure contact force in the line contact part of this annular projection will be uniform, and it will be stable. The obtained line contact is obtained.
[0023]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The drawing shows a push button switch used for a door switch of a refrigerator. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the push button switch 11 includes a housing 12, a cover 13, a push button 14, a return spring 15, and three The fixed terminals 16 to 18 and the movable piece 19 are integrally incorporated.
[0024]
The housing 12 has a mounting cavity into which the above-mentioned components are incorporated. The push button 14, the return spring 15, and the three fixed terminals 16 to 18 are opened from one side opening 12 a of the cavity. And the movable piece 19 are assembled, and the one side opening 12a is closed by a cover 13 described later.
[0025]
The upper surface of the housing 12 has a cylindrical portion 12b penetrating in the vertical direction. A push button 14 is slidably mounted in the cylindrical portion 12b in the vertical direction. The return spring 15 is housed in a compressed state and attached. Further, a movable piece mounting portion 12c for holding the movable piece 19 is provided at a position adjacent to the inner side of the push button 14, and three sets of vertically separated parallel parts are provided at positions adjacent to the movable piece 19. It has a fixed terminal mounting portion 12d and a terminal connection port 12e.
[0026]
FIG. 3 shows a cover 13. The cover 13 is mounted and attached through one side opening 12a of the housing 12, and fixed terminals 16 to 18 and movable pieces 19 described later are individually provided on the inner surface of the cover 13. Partition members 13a for partitioning and supporting are provided.
[0027]
FIG. 4 shows a push button 14. The push button 14 has a closed top portion of a vertically extending cylinder 14a set as a pressing surface 14b, and a lower portion having a flange-shaped step portion having a larger diameter than the cylinder 14a. It has a stop block portion 14c.
[0028]
The push button 14 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 12b of the housing 12 from below and is slidably mounted in the up and down direction using the cylindrical portion 12b as a guide. The lower surface 14b is supported so as to be depressed and protruded upward. At this time, the retaining block portion 14c of the push button 14 is locked by the retaining locking portion 12f inside the housing 12 as shown in FIGS. Stopped and supported.
[0029]
In this case, in order to increase the water tightness between the sliding surfaces of the push button 14 and the housing 12, as shown in FIG. 12g, which is planarly opposed to the sliding direction with respect to the sliding direction, and the retaining block portion 14c of the push button 14 which faces the retaining plane 12g receives the urging force of the return spring 15 to prevent the retaining plane. An annular projection 14d for line contact is formed on 12g in a watertight manner.
[0030]
The above-mentioned annular projection 14d protrudes slightly (for example, about 0.2 mm) concentrically around the cylindrical body 14a of the push button 14, and has a curved end shape such as a semicircle for line contact. In this case, by forming them on concentric circles, the pressure contact force at the distal end of the annular projection 14d becomes uniform, and by providing the distal end in a curved shape, the curved surface of the distal end is lined with the retaining flat surface 12g. When contact is made, it becomes easy to conform, the adhesion is increased, and a stable press contact surface without a gap is formed, so that watertight waterproofness can be obtained.
[0031]
Therefore, when the push button 14 is in a standby state (free position) in which the push button 14 can be pressed, the push button 14 and the housing 12 are located on the retaining plane 12g formed on the housing 12 side between the planar opposing portions where the retaining is opposed. Since the annular projection 14d formed on the plane on the side of the push button 14 receives the urging force of the return spring 15 and performs pressure contact, the waterproof property is maintained during the pressing standby.
[0032]
Further, when the push button 14 and the housing 12 are manufactured, they can be easily integrally molded using a synthetic resin material having insulation properties and easy to mold. In particular, the one retaining surface 12g can use the smooth outer surface as it is made of a synthetic resin material as it is, and the annular projection 14d opposed thereto does not require a complicated shape, so that the production is easy.
[0033]
In addition, since high waterproofness can be ensured, a highly reliable contact performance inside the housing can be obtained, and the switch structure and mounting direction are not restricted, and mounting can be performed in any direction.
[0034]
In this way, a simple and high-performance watertight structure can be constructed simply by opposing the annular projection 14d and the retaining surface 12g between the planar opposing portions of the push button 14 and the housing 12 corresponding to the retaining.
[0035]
For this reason, water-tight waterproofness that can completely block the intrusion of water is obtained at the portion of the annular projection 14d, and the intrusion of water from the portion of the push button 14 into the housing 12 can be accurately prevented.
[0036]
Further, the retaining block portion 14c of the push button 14 is provided with a slanting projection 14e extending to one side thereof, and the slanting projection 14e is provided with a movable piece 19 that is allowed to move inside the housing. In response to the contact, the contact portions of the fixed terminals 16 to 18 are switched according to the movement of the movable piece 19 in conjunction with the pressing operation of the push button 14, and the switching operation is performed.
[0037]
As shown in FIG. 8, the above-mentioned return spring 15 is formed by a coil spring, an upper end is inserted into the lower surface recess 14f of the push button 14, and a lower end is formed on a lower surface of the cover 13 (see FIG. 8). 3), is housed and supported in a vertically compressible state, and the push button 14 is biased and supported by the housing 12 so as to be able to be pressed.
[0038]
When the door of the refrigerator is opened and there is a possibility that water will fall on the push button switch 11 in the refrigerator, the push button switch 11 configured as described above is as shown in FIGS. 1, 8 and 10 (A). In addition, the push button 14 protrudes outward from the housing 12, and inside the push button 14, as shown in FIG. Since it is established, even if water falls on the push button 14, it is possible to completely block water from entering the housing. For this reason, there is no possibility that insulation failure occurs in the conductive members such as the movable piece 19 and the fixed terminals 16 to 18 inside the housing, and a highly reliable switch performance can be obtained.
[0039]
On the other hand, when the refrigerator door is closed, there is no danger of water falling down by hand, and at this time, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. It is immersed, and the switching between the contact portions of the switch inside the housing is switched.
[0040]
By the way, the combination between the planar opposing portions of the retaining surface 12g and the annular protrusion 14 described above is not limited to this, and may be configured by combining in the opposite direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a retaining opposing portion of the push button 111 on the retaining block 112 side is provided on the retaining plane 113, and as shown in FIG. It is configured by providing an annular projection 123.
[0041]
As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, even when the opposing positions of the retaining plane 113 and the annular projection 123 are reversed, the waterproof structure is the same as that of the above-described embodiment only in a vertically symmetric arrangement. It is a structure, and it is possible to select and use an arbitrary production form without changing the point that the water-tight waterproof performance without any gap can be obtained even in the press-fit even in the operation effect.
[0042]
As described above, when the tip of the other annular projection presses against the one retaining surface where the push button and the housing are retainingly opposed to each other, it is easily adhered to the flat surface, and watertightness where a gap is unlikely to occur is obtained. A waterproof surface is obtained. Further, in this case, the space between the push-stop and the retaining-opposing surface of the housing that opposes the retaining can also be used as a waterproof surface. Furthermore, each switch component can be effectively used as a waterproofing member, for example, the urging force of the return spring can be used as the waterproofing force as it is. Therefore, waterproofness can be obtained with a simple configuration without using a sealing member such as a rubber boot.
[0043]
In correspondence between the configuration of the present invention and the configuration of the above embodiment,
The simple waterproof switch of the present invention corresponds to the push button switch 11 of the embodiment,
Similarly,
The sliding hole corresponds to the cylindrical portion 12b,
The sliding shaft portion corresponds to the cylindrical body 14a,
The retaining portion inside the housing corresponds to the retaining portions 12f and 122,
The retaining step corresponds to the retaining blocks 14c and 112,
The present invention can be applied based on the technical idea described in the claims, and is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.
【The invention's effect】
According to this invention, the waterproof structure can be constructed at the same time as attaching the push button to the housing by forming the annular projection having the waterproof function on one side opposed to the plane. As a result, the sealing member can be omitted and high waterproofness can be ensured, so that insulation failure due to water infiltration inside the housing can be eliminated, and highly reliable contact performance can be obtained. There is no restriction on the mounting direction.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a push button switch.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a push button switch.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a cover of the push button switch.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing a push button.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the housing as viewed obliquely from below.
FIG. 6 is an essential part cutaway perspective view showing a push button switch in a pressing standby state.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a waterproof structure of the push button switch.
FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view showing a state in which a push button switch is in a pressing standby state.
FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional side view showing a switching operation state of the push button switch.
FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional front view showing a switching operation state.
FIG. 11 is an external perspective view showing a push button according to another embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a housing according to another embodiment viewed obliquely from below.
FIG. 13 is a cutaway perspective view of a main part showing a push-button switch according to another embodiment in a pressing standby state.
FIG. 14 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a main part showing a waterproof structure of a push button switch according to another embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
11: push button switch 12, 121: housing 12g, 113: retaining surface 14, 111: push button 14d, 123: annular projection 15: return spring

Claims (2)

The sliding shaft part is inserted into the sliding hole opened in the housing, and at the inner end of the sliding shaft part, there is an annular stopper step which is locked in plane with the stopper part inside the housing. A push button provided, a return spring for urging the push button outward between the push button and the housing, and a contact portion provided inside the housing based on a pressing operation of the push button. It is a simple waterproof switch that performs switching operation by connecting and disconnecting,
The push button and the housing are prevented from slipping in the sliding direction. One of the push buttons and the housing has a slip prevention plane formed between the flat opposing portions of the push step and the housing slip prevention portion. Is a simple waterproof switch in which an annular protrusion for line contact is formed on the one retaining surface in a water-tight manner by receiving the urging force of the return spring. 2. The simple waterproof type according to claim 1, wherein the annular projection is projected small, the tip of the annular projection is curved for line contact, and the annular projection is formed on a concentric circle centered on a sliding shaft or a sliding hole. switch.

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